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Chapter 8: The Crimson Vanguard

Chapter 8: The Crimson Vanguard

The Stonehaven Courtyard, Timber Creek School Of Fine Arts, Wakefield, U.S.A...

       Lunch couldn't have come at a better time for a rather starved Porter Fulton as he did his best to ignore his stomach's constant loud rumbling while in Mr. Holland's Botany Class. He had thought he'd never get out of there in time as he recalled during the dull lecture about stems and leaves and proper appreciation for flora, that he had not eaten when he awoke to venture toward his first class that morning and spending some time in the infirmary made him forget that he hadn't eaten as well. It was only sitting through the long hour lecture that he was forced to pay attention to this astounding fact as he grew all the more hungry and wished to be free of that class as the seconds gave way to minutes.

Once the bell rang, he'd been one of the firsts to be up and out the door thanking his lucky stars that he'd been able to hightail it, without the whole class being privy to hearing his empty stomach rumble. He had been halfway toward where the map he carried revealed the cafeteria when he'd suddenly found himself in an area of the school where looming clouds of the darkest grey he'd ever seen formed blocking out the light from the formerly bright sun and without warning, Port had been so much in a hurry that he ended up running smack dab into a group of long thin pale figures with varying ranges of hair color but were all draped in dark red attire.

He had only looked into the cold dark eyes of one of them before realization had dawned on him that he'd been face to face with a mysterious vampire clique that had inhabited this area. An overcast storm, powered by magical energy had been what kept them from combusting beneath the bright rays that Porter had just come from basking in on his way toward the cafeteria.

"Look what we have here." said the thick accent of a native of Transylvanian origin. "A newly arrived pup has lost his way."

Porter had resented being referred to as a "pup" even with him still struggling with the aspect of his being a werewolf in the first place. He narrowed his eyes at the tall thin pale figure draped in dark red aside from the long sleeve button-down shirt visible behind the red waistcoat and trousers. His hair had been pure white and draped down to his unseemly shoulders as he stood with something of a smirk filed across his unnaturally handsome porcelain white face.

The other tall and tin pale figures had been in similar dress and each had their cold and oddly glowing eyes on him as they watched their apparent leader reach down and pull the disheveled Porter onto his feet and dust him off.

"I beg your pardon young one, as I was so busy conversing about this rather peculiar weather that I did not see you when you fell." said the white-haired thin pale figure whom Porter had immediately recognized to have been a living breathing vampire. "We of The Crimson Vanguard are not mindless brutes who go about tossing fellow students onto their collective arses, if you don't mind my saying, I apologize for not noticing you beforehand."

Porter had been at a loss for words.

"It's fine," he said rather nervously unsure of what to make of the rather kind vampire's gesture of goodwill.

Looking the little group over, Porter could see that there had been at least five of them.

"Allow me to introduce our little club, I am club president Sevarius Stillwind." said the dark-haired figure with a pleasant smile.

"I am called Lucian Lenox." replied the white-haired figure that stood before Porter who had been the one he bumped into. "Vice-President, of course, the rest of our little rag-tag group are Mortimer Milanian, Eduardan Iger, and Cassian Colfax, we are The Crimson Vanguard, vampiric prefects here at Timer Creek and we are very pleased to meet a new student."

"M-My name's Porter, Porter Fulton." said the rather nervous newly discovered werewolf as he looked over at each member of the strange vampire clique. "I was just trying to find the cafeteria."

A small and almost eerie smile filed across the porcelain face of the vampire known as Lucian Lenox. He and his kind had no use for venturing into the cafeteria but he'd known quite a few wolves with ravenous appetites that frequented the place and where it had been located.

"Its location is straight down this cobblestone path and to the right I think, I haven't been much for venturing it given my "condition" but I have known many a mortal, werewolf, and witch or wizard that frequented the place...even a couple of fae had gone there on occasion," he said offering a bit of assistance.

"T-Thanks for the info," said Porter appearing grateful.

"Well be off with you Pup, we've got some patrolling to do and all that," said Lucian Lenox, the nicest vampire Porter had ever known, but of course, this was only his first encounter with one, or rather them.

Porter took his leave of them after respectfully biding them goodbye and headed in the direction of the path Lucian had suggested. He'd not been an expert but he'd seen many travel in this direction.

He had not thought much about vampires in general given their bloodlust tendencies and upper aristocrat breeding but he had thought that The Crimson Vanguard had indeed made something of a good impression on him, of course, he'd known due to instinct that it was due to some unseemly advantage of theirs that they had.

Porter had only known that he'd been a werewolf for a short time but the instincts that kept him going when faced with threats and odd situations abound had been the same. He supposed he had been like normal humans when referring to it as his gut instinct or feeling way back when. For now, he set his sights on the path to the cafeteria and hoped that whatever being inhabited it at this point would be more interested in their selective meals than him once he'd finally gotten there.